3 students, including 2 from Japan, found alive in caveCUSHMAN — An American student and two Japanese students who went missing inside of a cave overnight were found alive, Arkansas State University and emergency officials said Thursday. The university said in a statement that rescue teams had found Casey Sherwood, a 25-year-old senior from Jonesboro; 19-year-old Daiki Itoh, of Hiratsuka, Kanagawa; and 18-year-old Daisuke Takagi, of Kawagoe, Hyogo. "On behalf of all the faculty, students and staff...

State Briefs (Aug. 11, 2016)• NC woman dies after shooting at Arkansas gas station NORTH LITTLE ROCK — Police say a North Carolina woman has died after she was shot over the weekend at a gas station in North Little Rock. Sgt. Brian Dedrick of the North Little Rock Police Department says 39-year-old Amy Ashley of Raleigh, North Carolina, died Tuesday from her injuries following the Saturday shooting at a Valero gas station just off the Interstate 30 bridge in downtown Nor...

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THE ASSOCIATED PRESSThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Prosecutor: Ex-Arkansas judge should start prison sentenceLITTLE ROCK — A federal prosecutor says a former Arkansas circuit judge's bribery conviction should be affirmed and his prison sentence should begin. According to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, a court document released Monday also says a federal appeals court should also revoke former Faulkner County Circuit Court Judge Michael Maggio's appeal bond because he "cannot demonstrate a 'substantial question or law or fact'" that should keep him fr...

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THE ASSOCIATED PRESSThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Group sets plans for Ten Commandments near Arkansas CapitolLITTLE ROCK — A granite monument of the Ten Commandments planned near Arkansas' Capitol will weigh 6,000 pounds and stand more than 6 feet tall, the group lined up to install the display said in an application filed Monday. The American History and Heritage Foundation detailed its plans for the privately-funded monument in papers submitted to the secretary of state's office. The majority-Republican Legislature and GOP Gov. Asa Hutchinson appro...

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THE ASSOCIATED PRESSThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

AG: Federal law won't allow caps on Medicaid planLITTLE ROCK — Attorney General Leslie Rutledge says federal law won't allow Arkansas to limit the number of people who are enrolled in the state's hybrid Medicaid expansion. Rutledge told state Human Services Director Cindy Gillespie in an advisory opinion issued Monday that she didn't believe federal law would allow the state to put such limits on the program, which uses federal funds to purchase private insurance for the poor. Lawmakers earl...

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THE ASSOCIATED PRESSThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Welspun gets Diamond Pipeline contract worth $47MLITTLE ROCK -- Welspun Tubular says it's received a $47 million order to help build a 440-mile pipeline that will carry oil from Cushing, Oklahoma, to Memphis, Tennessee. Welspun and Diamond Pipeline LLC say the order accounts for approximately two-thirds of the pipe needed to build the Diamond Pipeline. The $900 million pipeline will be capable of transporting 200,000 barrels per day of domestic crude oil from the storage hub in Cushing to Va...

"Doctor Who" Tardis to make appearance in Hot SpringsHOT SPRINGS — Fans of the long-running BBC sci-fi television series "Doctor Who" will get the chance to see a full-size replica of the show's time machine and spacecraft, the TARDIS, up close thanks to local artist Zack Dryden. The Sentinel-Record reports that Dryden was approached by Bill Solleder, special events manager for Visit Hot Springs, about bringing the big blue police box to life to promote Spa-Con in September. He asked Dryden beca...

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THE ASSOCIATED PRESSThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

AR researchers get $9.4M to study childhood obesity• LR police reopen Kavanaugh after clearing suspicious package LITTLE ROCK — Little Rock police have reopened Kavanaugh Boulevard after it was temporarily shut down when a suspicious package was discovered underneath an unmarked police car. The police department tweeted that the package was discovered Monday in the 2800 block of Kavanaugh Boulevard in the city's Hillcrest neighborhood. Police shut down Kavanaugh between Palm Street and Beechwo...

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THE ASSOCIATED PRESSThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Beebe alderman Pruitt pleads guilty to violating election lawBEEBE -- A Beebe alderman has been fined $750 after pleading guilty to violating election laws after he admitted voting twice in this year's primary. Prosecutors agreed to lower the charge from a felony to a misdemeanor for David Pruitt, which means that Pruitt will still be eligible for re-election this year. Pruitt calls the incident an "honest mistake" and tells The Daily Citizen that he pleaded guilty because he wanted to take responsibili...

State Briefs (Aug. 7, 2016)• Man who died in Little Rock police custody is identified LITTLE ROCK — Little Rock police have identified a man who died in police custody after officers said he resisted arrest as a Stuttgart man. Police said Saturday that 22-year-old Marcus Sexton was pronounced dead at a hospital where he was taken when he became unresponsive after being arrested. Police have said the officers were investigating reports of a suspicious person in a trailer...

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THE ASSOCIATED PRESSThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Driver routes explored ahead of Arkansas bridge closureNORTH LITTLE ROCK — The steel pieces floating on barges in the Arkansas River at downtown North Little Rock look like "a giant Erector Set," but by next summer they are expected to form the basket-handle arches of the new $98.4 million Broadway Bridge. According to Arkansas Business, the existing bridge, nearly a century old, will close to traffic for up to six months while the new bridge is installed. Although the old bridge was set to close ...

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THE ASSOCIATED PRESSThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Civil War battlefield in Arkansas sold, to be preservedPRESCOTT — A nonprofit group has purchased one Civil War battlefield in southwest Arkansas and hopes to buy another one nearby, preserving the lands where Confederate soldiers turned the Union Army away from Shreveport, Louisiana. The Nevada County Depot and Museum celebrated Friday after buying the 448-acre Elkins Ferry property for $976,000 from Hancock Timber Management of Hope. The group plans to add interpretive trails and historical sign...

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THE ASSOCIATED PRESSThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Northwest Arkansas friendly area for minority businessesFAYETTEVILLE — Tom and Anna Tang's family was the only Chinese family they knew of in Siloam Springs when they moved there 30 years ago to start the town's first Chinese restaurant. They knew virtually no English, used their life savings for the venture and had to take days-long trips to get the right ingredients, their daughter, Shu Lan Tang, said. They worked at least 12 hours a day and made their rolls from scratch as customers lined up at ...

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Mayor of Bradley steps downBRADLEY -- The mayor of Bradley in south Lafayette County has announced her resignation. The Texarkana Gazette reports that Alice Carlson made the announcement Thursday. Her resignation was effective immediately. Carlson says she can no longer serve effectively and productively as mayor under the current hostile political environment. She says she isn't resigning under any pressure from the City Council or due to any wrongdoing. Bradley has a ...

Pine Bluff officer uses Taser on boy; investigation openedPINE BLUFF — Pine Bluff police are conducting an internal use-of-force investigation after an officer used a Taser on a 14-year-old boy. Lt. David David DeFoor said officers were called to a burglary in progress around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. DeFoor said three youths fled the scene, including the boy, who jumped over a fence. Authorities said an officer followed the boy and ordered him several times to get on the ground. DeFoor said the boy refused...

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THE ASSOCIATED PRESSThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

State board: Doctor can see patientsLITTLE ROCK — An Arkansas doctor facing rape and sexual assault charges had his medical license reinstated Thursday. The Arkansas State Medical Board voted to allow Robert Rook of Conway to see patients as long as he is accompanied by a chaperone and he submits a log of all patient exams to the board. The agreement was part of a consent order proposed by Rook's attorneys. Rook pleaded not guilty in July to three counts of rape and three counts...

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THE ASSOCIATED PRESSThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Civil rights groups fighting newsprint ban in state prisonsLITTLE ROCK -- A new policy banning newsprint clippings mailed to inmates is drawing criticism from civil rights groups who say the measure could infringe on the prisoners' First Amendment rights to receive published materials. Arkansas Department of Correction officials say the policy is needed to stem the flow of drugs in state prisons. Correction officials cited the difficulty in determining whether newsprint items are laced with drugs, suc...

Little Rock hosts mobile Guatemalan consulateLITTLE ROCK -- A mobile consulate has been set up in Little Rock to help Guatemalans in the state process documents to obtain passports and IDs and avoid a trip to the nearest consulate in Houston. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that the consulate was set up over the weekend in the Southwest Community Center. Jose Barillas Trennert, the Guatemalan consul general in Houston, said about 750 people were served during the consulate's first ...

1 fatally shot at Little Rock gas station; clerk questionedLITTLE ROCK — Authorities have arrested a store employee in connection with a fatal shooting outside a west Little Rock gas station. Little Rock police say the shooting happened at about 4 a.m. Monday at an EZ Mart on Mara Lynn Road. Police said that 20-year-old Jarvis Garner was found shot to death near the gas pumps outside the convenience store. Police said employee Nicholas Beasley confronted Garner in the parking lot and had asked to him ...